The invention concerns a loop-forming nonwoven material for a mechanical closure element, in particular, for disposable hygiene articles such as various types of diapers, incontinence articles and pads, wherein a first upper side of the nonwoven material has first larger non-bonded areas which are separated from one another to form islands.
Mechanically acting closure elements, which are often called hook/loop closure elements or Velcro closure elements, are produced to have a good closing action based on engagement or hooking of the cooperating closure elements and which cannot be accidentally released from each other. On the other hand, these closure elements should be releasable when desired, i.e. without separating or tearing the materials of the closure elements. In order to prevent this, the loop-forming component of the mechanical closure element either has textile bonds or, for nonwoven materials, the fibers of the nonwoven are sufficiently solidified or bonded. Increased nonwoven solidification results in a decrease in the adhesive force of the mechanical closure system.
EP 0 870 081 B1 describes a loop-forming nonwoven material in accordance with the preamble of claim 1 which provides non-bonded island-type areas on a preferably continuous non-bonded, nonwoven fiber sheet by using calendar embossing to effect a continuous bonded region of nonwoven material between the non-bonded areas. The areas between the island-type non-bonded areas which are solidified through calendar embossing, can essentially no longer be used for adhesive bonding.
EP 1 209 271 A1 discloses a light, nonwoven material which has mutually insulated line-segment type, bonded areas and nonwoven materials with a honeycomb-shaped pattern of embossed points. WO 95/33390 discloses a nonwoven/sheet laminate, wherein a presolidified fiber nonwoven sheet is joined to an elastomeric film layer via a grid of discrete jointing points.
EP 1 048 236 A2 proposes disposition of fusion-melting, mutually parallel continuous fibers onto a fusion-melting base layer and to connect them to the base layer through straight jointing lines extending transversely to the fiber direction, thereby forming loops between the jointing lines, which may cooperate with a hook-forming component of a closure element.
It is the underlying purpose of the present invention to provide a nonwoven material which is improved in view of closing reliability and durability, thereby taking into consideration the above-mentioned target conflict in forming a loop-forming component of a mechanical closure element.